[Yuki Kazu]

Kazu sat in the medical tent, his fight with Shigure was over. Not only that, Kazu had finished the exams as a whole as well. It felt strange, he'd been dealing with these exams for so long it was weird to be done with them. The medics had already fixed him up, thankfully neither his nor Shigure's injuries were too severe. How did Kazu do though? He wasn't completely sure if he'd passed, but he had done what he came here to do. He found his motivation, he proved that his sensei and Lady Yuki were right to send him here. At least, in his opinion he did. He looked out the window of the tent, Ichi and Okingshi were fighting now. Still trying to prove their worth. 

Now that he was done though, he didn't have to stress out about the results. There was nothing more he could do to change it, he was done. He might've lost to Shigure, but the fact that he'd succeeded in parts of his strategy was a feat in itself. He'd even bested the Hyuuga in Taijutsu, even if it was only for a moment. In a real fight to the death, Kazu had no idea who'd win. There wouldn't be any giving up in that situation, no forfeiting. Still, he didn't want to fight Shigure. At least, not to the death. The sound of footsteps brought Kazu back to reality. As a result, Kazu acted like he was still sleeping, it was probably his sensei after all.

[nue masahiko]

FEAR IS THE MIND-KILLER

Just like that, the exams were over. Propriety would dictate that Masahiko remain until the end of the third round to watch the remainder of the matches, but despite the thought crossing his mind, he found himself rising to his feet, issuing a polite goodbye to the Lady Fifth, and moving urgently down the stairs and towards the medical tent. He wasn’t rushing, and no one could accuse him of such, but he wasn’t exactly taking his time, either. He slowed as he approached the tent, and cautiously, quietly let himself in. Kazu was sleeping—or pretending to be. Whichever it was, Masahiko wasn’t about to bother him; he’d pushed himself to the limit and beyond four times in five days, and there wasn’t an iota more that Hiko could ask of him. He glanced out the window—two of the Kusa genin were in a bout, now. It looked like pure chaos, and Masahiko didn’t care to try to decipher it. He was tempted to check Kazu over, administer his own healing… but it was unlikely that he would be able to do anything that the medics on duty hadn’t already. Masahiko was trained for triage and emergency treatment, not the more careful holistic work that actual medics were masters of. Instead he let out a quiet sigh, and took a seat next to Kazu’s cot, waiting patiently at his student’s side for the medics to come back around.

Yuki Kazu -- 244

LAIKA OF THQ

[Yuki Kazu]

Hearing his sensei walk up, he continued to act as though he was asleep. He'd earned that much at least. He knew who the two fighting were though, Ichi who was his roommate and Okingshi who he'd sparred with before the first round began. He'd stolen a peak a bit before his sensei had gotten there. 

"So, how'd I do?" He asked suddenly to his sensei as he opened his eyes and gave a grin. "Gave white-eyes a run for his money right?" Despite the fact that he'd lost, he was overall in good spirits. Shigure and Kazu both countered each other in such different ways, they had both performed incredibly. Plus, winning wasn't everything. Kazu was pretty sure he proved that much in his final match. Still, he was a little disappointed at the fact that he'd lost. It was such a close match too! If he'd just been a little more prepared, he would've won. But he'd used every tool he'd came with. That alone proved how strong of an opponent Shigure was, and even then it was close. 

Now though, he was coming down from the adrenaline. The pain was mostly gone at least, with only slight winces of pain coming from him now. "Don't worry, I'm okay sensei. I'm more worried about you, I saw how hard you were gripping the railing during my fight. Overprotective much?" He joked, with a genuine smile on his face.

[nue masahiko]

FEAR IS THE MIND-KILLER

Ah, there he was. Masahiko gave a wry smile as Kazu abruptly decided to grace his sensei with his waking attention. He’d certainly been pretending to be asleep, as Masahiko suspected, but he wasn’t about to give the genin a hard time about it. It’d been a long few days. He seemed in good spirits, at least; Masahiko had been unsure of what Kazu’s mood would be like in the wake of his loss, considering how well he’d done in the first two rounds. But he was taking it well, as he should—it had been a close match, and hard-fought, which to Hiko’s mind mattered nearly as much as a clear victory. "You did very well,” Masahiko said, quite sincerely. Better than I expected. "Shigure-san is extremely capable. It was genuinely impressive that the match was as close as it was. And,” he said pointedly, "I wasn’t being overprotective. I was getting a better view.” Nevermind that he had considered at length the consequences of his actions if he felt the need to intervene; Kazu’s match with Shigure was the one that Masahiko had been the most apprehensive about. Kazu was at no great risk with any of the others, but… Shigure seemed a kind man. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a Konoha nin, or that he wouldn’t take the opportunity to take a life if it was cleanly presented to him. "How are you feeling?” he asked. "Do you need anything for the pain?”

Yuki Kazu -- 245

LAIKA OF THQ

[Yuki Kazu]

The surreal feeling of being done with the exams started to settle over Kazu as his sensei noticed that he was done acting like he was asleep. His first words were about what he had expected, and it wasn't anything Kazu didn't know. He was aware that he'd done pretty amazing given the circumstances. He'd gone from a guy who didn't like putting effort into anything to someone who'd found motivation. The exams were definitely an experience.

"I did the best I could, that's all sensei. You just haven't seen that before!" He smiled, appreciative of the few words his sensei offered. Kazu never really thought of him as anti-social, but there were some moments where he seemed like he just wasn't up to talking too much. "And you sure you weren't being overprotective? The look in your eyes said otherwise." Then again, maybe if Kazu had been paying less attention to the look his sensei had been giving, and more to his match he would've...

Best not to deal in what ifs. The boy thought to himself. It would just end up spiraling to if he had changed one little thing or this or that. He could analyze his fight, but that was different.

The boy leaned his head back, "I got the upper hand in Taijutsu against him, at least for a little bit. I used every tool in my arsenal really. I think the fights in general showed me a few of my weaknesses for sure though. I rely too much on my clan techniques, for example. While I've always been good at those, I need to expand my Taijutsu some more, and probably dip a bit more into other types of jutsu. I also don't have a lot of finishing blow type moves in my Taijutsu, so there's that." Kazu thought out loud, he'd probably get a response from his sensei too as a result. 

At the question of how Kazu felt, he sat up a bit to test the waters before leaning his head back and closing his eyes for a moment. He hadn't been this sore since the mission with those two chuunin delivering supplies when the train was out. "I'm pretty much fine, just really sore. I guess my body realized the exams were over too." He laughed. "Ow." He gave his sensei a reassuring smile. He was okay, just needed time to heal.

[nue masahiko]

FEAR IS THE MIND-KILLER

"Then I’ll expect to see your best a lot more moving forward,” Masahiko said primly—electing to ignore Kazu’s dig at how, uh, intensely he had watched the fight. There was likely not much he could have done against Shigure if it had come down to it, he thought. But his stepping into the ring—hopefully—would have been enough. He was just glad it hadn’t been necessary. Kazu went over his analysis of this fight, and the ones prior, and Masahiko nodded along. "It’s good to have an area of expertise,” he said, "I certainly have one, but it’s just as important to have a good fundamental understanding of the basics in each area of chakra study. Your taijutsu and hyoton study will be the most frequently used tools in your kit, but now every shinobi the world over knows those tools are what you rely on most—developing your skills in fuinjutsu and genjutsu will offer you greater strategic options and a better understanding of how to combat enemies who specialize in those fields.” He was, despite himself, reassured by Kazu’s insistence that he was okay—just sore, and tired. "You need rest,” Masahiko said. "Sleep and water.” His lips curved into a slight smile. "You’ll need to be prepared for the journey home—undoubtedly Lady Shuka will have your name on the roster for a number of missions. You’ll still have more to prove out in the field before she considers you for promotion, you know.”

Yuki Kazu -- 243

LAIKA OF THQ

[Yuki Kazu]

Masahiko, of course, now expected to see his best more often going forward. Kazu felt that it was obvious he would be doing that at this point, but he didn't feel the need to mention that. His other comment was ignored, but Kazu was fine with that. It wasn't like his joke was going anywhere anyways. "My best is pretty great, huh?" He asked, rhetorically of course.

Masahiko's response to the boy's analysis of his abilities was about what he expected. He affirmed that while having an expertise was good, he was severely lacking in the basics of anything else. His most used tools would still be the same, his hyoton and taijutsu, but now anyone that had attended the exams would know that. Not to mention, word traveled fast. Even those that hadn't attended or spectated the exams might know. Developing his skills in the other sections of chakra study would benefit him immensely. His sensei recommended Fuinjutsu and Genjutsu, seeing as how Kazu was more of a strategist. However, Kazu wasn't a strategist in the sense of set up before a battle. It was more that he tried to collect information on those that he would face and adapt a strategy for fighting them. He took his sensei's words to heart though, giving the man a simple nod in response.

Masahiko made the obvious comment that Kazu needed rest and water. He'd have to be prepared for the long boat ride back home. Lady Yuki would, according to his sensei, probably have his name on a roster for a lot of missions. Even if he passed the exams, he'd have to prove himself in the field a bit more before promoting. "You mind getting me some water then, sensei? Not exactly easy for me to get up at the moment. And when we get back, I better get at least a day of rest before any missions!" The boy would jokingly complain, the exams were really over though. Soon, he'd be home.

[nue masahiko]

FEAR IS THE MIND-KILLER

My best is pretty great, huh? Masahiko rolled his eyes—and suppressed a smile. He did not deign to respond. This newfound confidence and motivation was wonderful to see, but he certainly didn’t need to feed the boy’s ego. He leveled an unimpressed look at Kazu at his request, but acquiesced, and without complaint at that. He plucked a glass from the table at Kazu’s bedside and went about filling it, puttering around the medical tent with the ease and grace of someone well-accustomed to such surroundings, despite being so far from home. "I wouldn’t count on having more than a day or two,” Masahiko warned as he filled the glass. "The trip back will take some time, and with you having scored so highly, everyone will be eager to see you implement what you’d learned and practiced here in the field.” He returned to Kazu’s side, and passed the glass over. "Drink, then sleep,” he said. "I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.” With that he would settle in at Kazu’s bedside, claiming a deeply uncomfortable chair as his perch as he watched the goings-on outside the medical tent window with mild interest. They wouldn’t be able to stay overlong, but napping for an hour or two would do Kazu a world of good, and then Hiko could escort him back to the dormitories after the third round was officially fully concluded. Then, at long last, they could prepare to return home. [fin.]

Yuki Kazu -- 243

LAIKA OF THQ